Custom chapter color scheme

[Morik]

Hi guys, i'm having trouble deciding on a color scheme for my custom chapter, i have spent hours looking at SM images online but i cant decide, every color seems to be already taken by one of the main chapters, if i say blue, red, green, yellow,  you know who im talking about, and I want to be able to use my chapter to play any codex, any chapter tactic,

 

I Currently have 10 Space wolves painted, and although their recent fluff has made me want to do my own chapter of unknown primarch so that  im mostly immune to bad new fluff (that is not written by me hehe), i kind of like their paint scheme (russ grey), i have given them solid red shoulder pads and helmets on all of them, and im tempted to continue using their scheme, their colors kinda give me a night lords vibe, but im not sure thats the way to go, since it seems not a very unique way to go.

 

Any suggestions on color schemes?

 

i appreciate your help,

 

Thank you, 

[Draakur]

Might help to know something about them first, perhaps? :) Beliefs, preferred tactics, history, name, anything...

[Grand Master Belial]

Going DIY lets you have some latitude and gives you options. I can think of a couple names for some non-Wolves that could use the current scheme - Blood Hounds, Mech Lords and War/Fighting Foxes.

 

Include some non-Wolves models into the mix (particularly the specialists) and it gives your chapter its own identity. It also opens you up to using ANY Marine Codex you want and keep it cohesive without going "Unbound."

 

If you look at the old 13th Company, it used CSM parts as well as SW parts and usually only one piece of armor would still be WB red to state that it was scavenged and hadn't been repainted yet. It is easy to borrow this idea and use for your own chapter.

[Morik]

Might help to know something about them first, perhaps? Beliefs, preferred tactics, history, name, anything...

I was hoping to build their fluff once i had their color scheme so its a work in progress, butt heres some ideas i have:

i love the look of chainswords, one of the reasons i went SW is you get 8 chainswords, so i am hoping to play either crusader squads, bloodclaws or assault marines without jumpacks, i like close combat.

Name wise im partial to either "Ash dragons" or "Ash lords", as the chapter simbol im thinking of is a black chevron over a red shoulder pad, to symbolise a volcano, i like this because i can do it freehand, another option would be using the black templar cross over a red shoulder pad and only on one side or a white cross (+).

i dont like the whole ultramarine "roman" style adornments (gold shoulder pads, eagles, tassles, tabbards, helmet brushes, laurels), but neither am i a fan of going full tribal like the SW or Salamanders, im more of a fan of the carcharodons style, simple not much decorations, but i dont like the idea of camuflage marines (ravenguard or raptors)

Thats another problem since i dont like thease things, im kinda on a loss as to how to model my veterans.

[Grand Master Belial]

Perhaps go with Black helmets (or another color) to signify their status as Veterans.

[Doctor Perils]

Your proposed Colour Scheme sounds like it should be fine, and distinct enough from Space Wolves to not be confused with them. Your proposed names (Ash Lords or Ash Dragons) also sound pretty good, so you've got a good start already.

 

If you want to test out more variations on your colour scheme, I always recommend the Bolter and Chainsword Space Marine Painter, holy grail of the DIYers art :D Also, the Octaguide gives many of the dos and don'ts of chapter creation.

 

Before going much further though, I'd recommend giving your theme or concept a thought, as it will help you develop your fluff in a cohesive way in the future. Try and see (by researching real-life history, current canon and DIY chapters or other franchises) if you can get a theme that you'd like to develop in your chapter, and then try and write a single simple sentence to describe that theme (examples could be "Vikings in space", "secret vampires in space", etc.)

 

Good luck for your new DIY :)

[Qai]

What has been posted above is really good advice. I'll just amend to it a bit because I know how difficult it can be to get a good colour scheme.

 

One important thing to consider is how closely your Chapter will follow the Codex colour designations per Company. If you are trying to go for absolute Codex compliance, then the variety of the colours used can quite literally make some of your Companies look like circus performers. There is leeway to have Company markings that differ from the proscribed trims as long as the scheme is consistent.

 

Another important point is to try and not use more than two colours for the base models. Those will have to be mixed with the Company colours, red for Sergeants, white for veterans, blue for psykers, etc. So lots of potential to go wrong.

 

A good approach may be to first choose a colour you like as the base coat. For ash it could be a shade somewhere between Grey Knights and Black Templars. At this point use the painter and just paint the entire model in that base coat. The next thing you probably want to do is decide on a colour *pattern* that distinguishes your Chapter. This is where most pitfalls occur. It's very tempting to do something fancy or extravagant, even if your scheme is intended to be simple. Going to your lore about "ash", think about what ash actually looks like but also how it is formed. Do you want your Chapter to be more focused on the ash itself so the colours would pretty much evoke a static state resembling being burned out, dead, consumed, etc? Or maybe you want to evoke the process of turning to ash, so a flame burning something, kind of like Legion of the Damned? The flames would also evoke the concept of dragons. To avoid conflict with LoD don't use flames, but maybe you choose to embellish your base coat with say both Power Fists and the chest-Aquila being some hue of red?

 

Don't be afraid to break certain Codex designations, as long as you break them consistently and the *way* you break them is obvious so that you can still identify a Company. Maybe it's just the chest-Aquila that changes colour per Company, or maybe just the Power Fists, etc. Don't worry if one or two look odd, it's practically inevitable. The Companies you want to make sure really look kick-ass are 1-5 (white, yellow, red, green, black), as they are your main fighting force. The base ash colour already works with 1 and 5. Whatever embellishment you want to choose to represent a flame will likely work with yellow and red. Green might be a problem, but you'll have to play around with that.

 

Don't get discouraged. The process to find a good scheme is not easy. Maybe post a few a variations you come up with and like and we can comment further.

[Brother Tyler]

Honestly, tactics, Chapter name, etc. are all just red herrings and they don't matter (with regard to the Chapter's colors). Just pick a scheme that you find attractive (by whatever metrics you use) and which you will be comfortable painting (i.e., quartered schemes look cool, but they are work-intensive, especially when one or more of the colors are difficult, such as white or yellow).

 

Examples of why none of that other stuff matters include the Red Scorpions (they're not red, but the scorpion on their Chapter badge is), the Black Guard (they're not black), etc.

 

There are tons of ways to indicate veterans, from things as simple to differently colored helmets (white is the norm, but not an absolute rule) to alternate badges (whether a special badge just for veterans or reversing the colors of the shoulder pads or something else entirely) to alternate schemes (e.g., the Deathwing of the Unforgiven Chapters).

[Claws and Effect]

The Chapter name can either be  very important or totally irrelevant, depending on the name. 

 

For example, it would be a little odd if the White Scars wore blue armor. Similarly, the Raven Guard will clearly wear black. (Incidentally, the Raven Guard aren't camouflage, they just wear black armor with white arms and shoulders for veterans)

 

The Imperial Fists could be any color at all. They happen to be yellow. 

 

Since your Chapter is the Ash Somethings, it evokes images of dark gray armor with dark orange trim. At least to me. 

[Badass_Spaz]

Rule of cool; your Chapter colors is the residue from artillery bombardments, fragments from Ork grenades, and the blood of your enemy. The painting will do its own work, so don't even worry. Hehe